NEWS

MiP Conference 2016: Chief executive Jon Restell told delegates the very survival of the NHS depends on managers working under intense pressure and walking a tightrope between compassion and resources.

Most people would walk away from being a middle manager in our NHS… They couldn’t face the responsibility of making decisions which mean so much to the lives and survival of other human beings. But this what Sandie does, day in, day out.

MiP Conference 2016: Devolution within the NHS increasingly allows countries and regions to go their own way. MiP brought together NHS leaders from Wales, Scotland and England to discuss the opportunities and threats from this trend.

"The real challenge is to take the rhetoric and challenge ourselves on how we can make it real. Why is it that we still think there is something different between primary and community health services? If we can’t join those up, then we really are lost."

MiP Conference 2016: Leading head teacher Wendy Hick gave an inspiring talk to delegates about how real staff engagement and a positive, reflective approach can turn struggling organisations around – and surprisingly quickly

“Normally, people go in and take a troubleshooting approach, they look to get a quick fix. I took a very different and more considered approach. I thought what am I going to do to raise the morale of the staff at this school?”

MiP Conference 2016: Professor Mark Radford from NHS Improvement led a workshop on the many workforce challenges likely to face managers in the NHS next year.

“The next two quarters are going to be tough. The money is really tight and that is creating pressure through the whole system. Keeping our focus as a system on the patients is absolutely fundamental.”

MiP Conference 2016: Health minister Philip Dunne promised to “reset” the political rhetoric about NHS managers, improve workplace culture and tackle bullying in the NHS, in his keynote conference speech on 23 November.

Although short on specific proposals, Dunne’s first external speech as health minister also promised action to improve NHS leadership skills, recruit more graduate management trainees and deliver parity of esteem for mental health services.

MiP Conference 2016: Four experts on the NHS workforce discuss the challenges facing the NHS and how we can make it a better place to work.

The myriad pressures the NHS face at the moment can overshadow some of the major challenges in the workplace for managers and staff – things like bullying, ensuring fair terms and conditions for staff, and dealing with employment disputes.

MiP Conference 2016: Matthew Swindells, national director for operations and information at NHS England, told conference that NHS managers need to be “strong, resilient and brilliant” to meet the challenges posed by the Five Year Forward View

In his keynote speech to MiP conference on 23 November, Swindells said the NHS had made “spectacular” progress in the last three decades and was doing “fantastic work every day”, although he acknowledged life was particularly tough life for NHS managers at the moment.

Less than two years after new redundancy terms were agreed for the NHS, the Treasury has forced unions and employers back to the negotiating table. Craig Ryan brings you up to speed on the government’s plans – and what might happen next.

If they cannot be improved through negotiation, the Treasury’s proposals could mean substantial cuts in redundancy entitlements for many MiP members. However, for higher-paid members or those with long service, the proposed £95k cap may have the bigger impact.

To get your views out there, MiP is working with its members to have your stories from the NHS frontline published in the media. This one appeared in the Guardian. Could you help produce the next?

Bringing together health and social care is crucial to sorting out the problems in the NHS, and could unlock all sorts of benefits for patients. But the government needs to provide more clarity about how they’re going to work – then demonstrate commitment to its own strategy.

MiP urges a repeat of last year's well received cash award for executive and senior managers in NHS England, Health Education England and other arms-length NHS bodies.

In its evidence for the SSRB's 2017 report, MiP also calls for a comprehensive leadership and workforce strategy for arms-length bodies and wide-ranging talks about extending the remit of the review body.

MiP members contribute to the health and care debate in the Scottish Parliament election

'Our members have seen the increasing difficulties that NHS Scotland has had in meeting the Scottish peoples' aspirations for a first class NHS given the available budget. With an ageing population, rising drug and technology costs, and the legitimate rise in public expectation of quality care, this cannot and should not continue.'

Simon Stevens talks to MiP's Alison Moore about funding, reshaping health and social care for the 21st century and his personal crusade against obesity.

When Simon Stevens returned from America to lead NHS England two years ago, many managers saw him as someone who understood the NHS and could lead it through choppy waters. Two years on, those choppy waters have been whipped up by a force ten storm

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